Poem by Hilaire Belloc

On Vital Statistics

Ill fares the land to hast’ning ills a prey (1) 
Where wealth accumulates and men decay.’ 
But how much more unfortunate are those 
Where wealth declines and population grows! 

(1)This line is execrable; and I note it.
I quote it as the faulty poet wrote it.

1. Noël
2. To Dives
3. Stanzas Written on Battersea Bridge during a South-Westerly Gale
4. In a Boat
5. Courtesy

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